Last week, CompTIA hosted the first in a series of webinars for the newly established Emerging Technology Committee which represents the federal, state and local ecosystems. The webinar titled, “Drones and Smart Cities: Transforming the lives of Citizens,” examined drones and their ability to deliver services more rapidly and more efficiently to residents and how the influx of emerging technologies such as drones will help develop smart cities.
The webinar was hosted by David Logsdon, senior director of CompTIA public advocacy, who handles the emerging tech portfolio at the federal level and Kelly Hitt, CompTIA director of state government affairs, who handles the emerging tech portfolio at the state and local level. Our speakers included Jason Nelson, Executive Director for Partner Engagement, Smart Cities Council; Purvi Doshi, Senior Public Policy Manager, Air Map; and Camillo Jose Taylor, Professor, Computer and Information Science Dept., University of Pennsylvania.
Drones Role in Smart Cities
As cities become denser and more urban, they are relying on technology to help them accommodate the influx of new residents and improve the quality of life for their citizens. Cities have become some of the most vibrant and progressive places for technological development. The influx of this technology helps develop smart cities.
Smart city technology often starts with the need to deliver services more rapidly and more efficiently to residents. One of those key technologies is drones. Today, thousands of drones are already being used to improve city life: drones are being used to document accident scenes, support first responder activities, and monitor construction sites. Soon drones will be a key component of package delivery. In the future, connected drones will navigate autonomously through cities.
Jason Nelson, Executive Director for Partner Engagement, Smart Cities Council, kicked off our webinar by defining smart cities, then discussed the role of drones in smart cities and some of the work Smart Cities Council is doing in smart cities with their partners.
He explained that drones are already being used to document accident scenes, support first responder activities and monitor construction sites, but they are poised to become and integral part of a smart city’s network.
In fact, a smart city is built on data from sensors embedded throughout the city, according to Nelson. “We see drones as being one of the potential citywide sensor networks along with smart city lights, a city’s fleet vehicles and smartphones.” These type of drones will be able to provide situational awareness by inspecting infrastructure, track traffic and zoning and take fleet vehicles off the road.
Our next speaker was Airmaps’ Purvi Doshi who discussed how recent steps taken by the federal government to support unmanned aerial systems could lead to them being easier to use.
“The UAS Integration Pilot Program gives cities a chance to partner with major industry players who are trying to use drones in these complex cases…collect the data that will inform the regulation.” This initiative includes the development of air traffic management systems that integrate drones into the nation airspace.
The Federal Aviation Administration's work on standards for remote identification and tracking of drones will also make it easier for cities to integrate the devices.
The FAA committee has developed a set of recommendations regarding remote identification and tracking of UAS could be used by law enforcement to know who is flying and if they’re a safe flyer, Doshi said. “I think that will make cities feel a lot more comfortable welcoming this technology into their communities,” she said.
Our final speaker was Camillo Jose “CJ” Taylor, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania. He discussed technology advances will make the drones smarter, easier to use and more useful.
Researchers, including Taylor, have been working on drone autonomy over the past few years. Some tests have shown drones can successfully navigate without having any flight plans uploaded and without GPS.
Taylor also highlighted the growing use of drones for infrastructure inspection. He has worked on using UAS to inspect tunnels in hydroelectric facilities -- tight spaces that are hard to access. In the past, inspections of these tunnels have required scaffolding to be built. A drone outfitted with a camera and other sensors, though, can get the information needed for a sufficient inspection, he said.
To hear the webinar in its entirety, please go here.
Lana Sansur is the Senior Marketing Manager for Policy and Public Sector
